


Five Times Alec Hijacked His Boyfriend’s Magic for Menial Tasks & One Time He Didn’t (Mean To)

by karrahbear



Series: Malec Drabbles [5]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: 5+1 Things, Fluff, M/M, Magic, Soulmates, True Love, a little smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-17
Updated: 2017-03-17
Packaged: 2018-10-06 11:44:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10333919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/karrahbear/pseuds/karrahbear
Summary: Inspired by the positive responses I got on "Sparks" and "Learning."You guys rock.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is a continuation of a theme that began in my other Malec work called "Sparks." If you haven't read it, you might want to read that first, but it's not necessary.
> 
> #3 also makes reference to a necklace that's mentioned in my work "Learning." Again, if you haven't read it, it's not a big deal, but you'll have some backstory to fill in the blanks.
> 
> Also, the events are in reverse chronological order.

**5.**

Alec turned a page in the book he was reading and then flipped through the next few pages, looking for the end of the chapter. When he counted the pages he groaned.

“You realize that each time you turn the page, it only reduces the count by two?”

“So?”

“So, you’ve been recounting the remaining pages each time you turn a page for the last twenty minutes. And while I normally enjoy hearing your frustrated little groans, I much prefer them in the bedroom and caused by my… _ministrations_.”

Alec flushed and shifted in his seat, suddenly acutely aware of his boyfriend’s head in his lap. He dropped his hand to Magnus’s soft, dark hair, and carded his fingers through it. It wasn’t often that the warlock’s hair was left un-styled or without product, but when it was, Alec made sure to take advantage of it.

“You know I’ve got to finish this chapter, otherwise Izzy’s totally going to kill me.”

Magnus heaved a put-upon sigh, his golden eyes sinking closed as Alec’s fingers slid deeper into his hair. Alec’s fingernails gently grazed his scalp and Magnus made a contented noise in the back of his throat. He snapped his own book shut and let it fall to the rug, finally giving up the pretense of reading. Alec already knew that the warlock wasn’t actually reading anyway – he hadn’t turned a page in the twenty minutes they’d been sitting together.

“I still don’t understand why she couldn’t read it herself.”

Alec smiled as Magnus stretched out a little more on the sofa, extending his legs so his feet hung over the arm.

“She can’t read Aramaic.”

“That sounds like her problem, not yours.”

A lifetime ago, the comment would have made Alec’s hackles rise; now it just made him chuckle. He knew that despite the snarky comments and the aloof attitude he actually liked Alec’s siblings, even loved them, and that thought always warmed him inside.

Alec reached for his coffee on the table beside him and took a sip. 

“Ugh, it’s cold. Can’t you like, enchant a mug to keep it warm for me or something?”

Magnus opened his eyes only to roll them at Alec before lifting his hand and offering Alec his pointer finger. The shadowhunter smiled and laid his open book, pages down to keep his place, on Magnus’s stomach. 

He wrapped his hand around Magnus’s, familiar with the tingling that began when he did, and then dipped the tips of both of their fingers briefly into the coffee, his mind focused only on _warm_. When he removed them, a faint wisp of steam was rising from the previously tepid liquid.

He took a sip.

“Perfect.”

“Except now I’ve got a sticky finger.”

Alec set the mug down, wiped his own finger on his jeans and then took Magnus’s hand where it was still hovering in front of him.

“I think I can help with that.”

Alec brought his finger to his lips and gave it a slow lick, the taste of coffee flaring briefly on his tongue, before sucking just the tip into his mouth. When he glanced down, Magnus’s eyes were open and heavy-lidded, the usual brighter gold color was a darker, deeper shade, and the faint quirk of his lips was tighter.

“Don’t start something you don’t mean to finish, Alexander.”

Alec’s stomach dropped, like it always did when Magnus purred his name in such a threateningly seductive tone. He removed Magnus’s finger from his mouth and gave it a final lick before reaching for his book again.

There was a soft thud right before Alec found himself with a lapful of warlock. Alec realized the thud was his book hitting the ground, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. Magnus straddled him, his knees on either side of Alec’s hips, and his arms draped around the shadowhunter’s shoulders.

“Izzy’s so going to kill you,” Alec murmured, his arms already finding their way around Magnus’s waist.

“I’d like to see her try,” the warlock growled.

Alec laughed, but it was quickly swallowed by his boyfriend surging forward and sealing their lips together.

 **4.**

Alec couldn’t understand Mundanes’ fascination with birthdays. There were only a couple of birthdays worth celebrating for Shadowhunters and Alec had already passed them both, so it surprised him when Isabelle cornered him in the Institute’s kitchen one afternoon and told him he was having a birthday party.

“You’re kidding, right?”

“Nope! I’ve already got it in the works. All you have to do is show up.” She grinned at him.

“Izzy…”

“I don’t want to hear it, big brother. This is the first year where Mom and Dad are in Idris, there’s no cataclysmic threat to humanity looming over our heads, and you have a boyfriend. So this year definitely warrants a celebration.” Isabelle’s smile dipped suddenly into a frown, and her eyes narrowed as she leaned closer to him, a sharp, red fingernail jabbing him in the chest. “You better show up, big brother. Or it’ll be your last birthday…ever.”

His sister was several inches shorter than he was, even in her heels, but when she got a certain glint in her eye, she was scary. Alec swallowed before nodding slowly.

“I’ll be there.”

“Great!”

And quicker than flipping a switch, his sister was back to the bubbly, sassy woman she always was. She flipped her hair over her shoulder and swept out of the room, leaving Alec wondering what on earth had gotten into her.

When Friday rolled around, he’d almost forgotten about the birthday party. Luckily Jace had knocked on his office door half an hour before he was supposed to be at Magnus’s loft, reminding him that if he wore anything less than an Izzy-approved ensemble, there’d be hell to pay.

“Ready?” Jace asked as they ascended the stairs to the loft.

“Not remotely,” Alec muttered, tugging at the sleeves of his royal blue button-down. It was tucked into his jeans, hole-free and un-faded jeans, and he was wearing a black belt that matched his boots. He was willing to let his sister play life-size Ken doll with him, but a man had to draw lines somewhere, and for Alec, that meant he was wearing his boots not some shiny dress shoes that pinched his toes.

They stopped at the door and Jace turned to face him.

“You look good,” Jace told him, his golden eyes sweeping up and down Alec’s body. “Magnus won’t know what hit him.”

There was sincerity in his voice that Alec rarely heard from his parabatai. At least before Clary. Now that his brother was dating the redhead, he’d softened a bit, opened up more, and while Alec had initially envied her, now he was happy for them. Clary was a good influence on Jace.

“Thanks, Jace.”

His brother laid a hand on his arm, squeezing once before leaning forward and throwing the door open.

“Birthday boy’s here!” he called into the loft.

* * *

“Is it time for cake yet?”

Clary looked at Simon. “You can’t even eat cake.”

The vampire shrugged. “So?”

“It’s definitely time for cake,” Izzy declared, pushing herself off the sofa and heading for the kitchen.

The rest of the group followed her, and Alec trailed along at the back. 

“Are you alright?”

Magnus’s soft voice in his ear and the gentle touch of his hand on Alec’s waist made him smile.

“I’m fine.”

“You sure? You look a bit…” Magnus waved his free hand absently.

Alec could hear the others chattering and giggling in the kitchen, and he stared at the doorway for a moment before turning to face his boyfriend.

“Yeah, I’m okay. I’m just not used to being the center of attention. It wears me out.”

Magnus hummed in understanding as he looped his other arm around Alec’s waist, pulling them together. Alec returned the embrace, dropping his head to bury his face in Magnus’s neck. They stood together for several minutes while the rest of the group occupied themselves in the kitchen.

“You look fantastic tonight.”

Magnus’s soft compliment made Alec smile, and he was glad that the warlock couldn’t see his face because he was sure his cheeks were bright red.

“That shirt does things to your eyes that I didn’t even dream were possible.”

“Ugh, get a room you two!”

Several months ago, his sister’s off-handed remark would have made him jump away from Magnus like he’d been burned, but he was past that point now. Instead, he just squeezed Magnus once before letting him go.

“Come on, lovebirds! There’s cake and candles waiting!”

Magnus slipped his hand into Alec’s, weaving their fingers together, before looking at Alec and jerking his head at Izzy.

“You heard the lady, let’s go.”

The pair squeezed into the kitchen where everybody else was gathered around the kitchen island. On the island was a cake, bright blue with an Angelic Power rune in gold on the top, and scattered haphazardly with lit candles.

“Should we sing?” asked Simon.

“Absolutely not,” Alec said. He looked at Clary. “What am I supposed to do with a flaming cake?”

Clary and Simon shared a glance that even Alec knew translated roughly into _poor, deprived Shadowhunters_ , but it was Magnus who answered.

“Make a wish, Alexander. And then blow out the candles.”

It sounded ridiculous, but his friends had taken the time to come together and celebrate the day of his birth, so he resisted the urge to roll his eyes and instead closed his eyes. He wasn’t sure what he could possibly wish for, since he had everything he wanted or needed, so he said a quiet thank-you to whatever alleged wish-granting deity was watching over the birthday celebrations, opened his eyes, and blew out the candles.

Everyone clapped, and Alec started to turn away, when he noticed one of the candles was still lit. He leaned over to blow it out, but another one reignited. He watched curiously as each of the candles relit itself.

“What in the…”

Alec smiled, realizing who was behind it.

“Magnus,” he scolded playfully.

“It wasn’t me,” his boyfriend answered softly. “I haven’t touched the candles – physically or magically.”

Normally Alec wouldn’t believe him, but from the confused look on his face, and his fascination with the candles, still lit, on Alec’s cake, he had to admit that Magnus might be telling the truth.

Alec leaned back over the cake and blew out one of the candles. A second passed, and then a flame reappeared on the wick. He tried it again, with the same result. 

“What the hell is wrong with those?” Jace asked. 

Isabelle leaned closer to get a better look. “Are they enchanted?”

Magnus shook his head. “No, I’d be able to feel it. I have no idea what’s going on with these things.”

After another minute of studying the candles, Alec noticed Simon and Clary were the only ones not intrigued by the mysterious candles. In fact, they kept shooting each other looks while trying not to grin.

“Okay, spill it. What’s the deal with the candles?” Alec asked.

Simon and Clary snorted and then dissolved into laughter. The rest of the group turned to watch them, glaring, until they could collect themselves.

“They’re trick candles,” Clary told him, wiping at the tears in her eyes. “They’re made so you can’t blow them out.”

“How?”

“With science!” Simon answered. “Score one for the Mundanes!” 

Alec rolled his eyes and turned back to his cake.

“Alright, that’s it. Back up, everyone.”

Everyone straightened up. Alec raised his free hand and focused intently on the candles as the familiar tingling sensation made its way from where he and Magnus were still holding hands, up Alec’s arm, across his chest, and down his other arm, into his hand. Alec made a short, sweeping motion and the candles extinguished. This time they stayed that way.

“Finally.”

When nobody else said anything, Alec glanced around the kitchen and noticed that nobody was moving either.

“What?” he asked.

“Alec, did you just – I mean, how did you – “

Jace’s stumbling questions were interrupted by Isabelle’s more direct line of questioning.

“What the hell, Alec?”

“I second Izzy’s question,” Simon said.

Clary just stared at him like he’d grown a second head. Finally he looked at Magnus.

“I guess they don’t know about the whole…” Magnus waved his free hand, a few blue sparks fluttering around his fingers.

Oh. Oops.

“In that case,” Magnus said, addressing the group. “Grab some cake children, it’s story time.”

**3.**

“What did I miss?” Jace asked, seating himself back on the sofa next to Clary with a fresh bowl of popcorn.

“Nothing worth mentioning,” Izzy answered, brow furrowed as she stared at the screen.

Her look of confusion was mirrored on the rest of the group’s face, including Alec’s own. The only ones who didn’t look seriously confused were Simon and Clary. And Raphael, but that was only because he was slouched in his armchair, asleep. Alec thought he might have been the smartest of them tonight.

“Are there really man-eating sharks out in the ocean?” Jace wondered aloud around a mouthful of popcorn.

“And how in the hell did these random ass tornados scoop all of them up? If there were really that many out in the ocean, why is nobody afraid of the beach? Wouldn’t you have more shark attacks if there – “

Izzy cut off to watch another innocent civilian get munched by a shark with a yearning for _long pig_.

“This is the last time we let the mundanes pick the movie,” Magnus muttered. 

Alec nodded from his position tucked into Magnus’s side. “You won’t hear me complain.”

They watched as a lady screamed and scrambled to escape from the sharks.

“This is the worst movie since that one with the airplane full of snakes,” Magnus said, addressing the room this time.

Jace glanced over at the warlock, eyebrows raised. “You mean _Snakes on a Plane_?” 

“Yes. But at least that one had what’s-his-name in it…you know, the black guy with the bald head and flair for the dramatics?”

“Samuel L. Jackson,” Clary supplied, still watching the movie.

“Yeah, him. At least he’s talented, and fun to watch. These people are just painfully bad actors.”

Nobody argued with him. After another ten minutes of sharks and tornados and terrible acting, Alec couldn’t take it. He closed his eyes and focused. A tingling made its way from where his body was pressed against Magnus’s, across to his opposite side and dominant hand. He snapped his fingers, the sound of it drowned out against the mayhem on screen, and suddenly the DVD shot out of the player and across the room, knocking over a vase, and landing in the wastebasket under Magnus’s work desk. The warlock caught the vase before it hit the floor and shattered, setting it back into its previous position with a casual sweep of his hand.

All eyes came to rest on Magnus. He shrugged.

“It wasn’t me, honest. It must be a sign.”

Nobody seemed to believe him, but the only person who looked upset by the event was Simon.

“I was hoping to see whether that one guy acknowledged his latent homosexuality and finally got with the other guy,” Magnus continued. “I’m also adding a rule to movie night: there must be some cinematic merit to the movies we watch.” He paused. “And Simon doesn’t get to pick the movies for the next six months.”

“I told you that you’d regret letting the fledgling pick the movie,” Raphael said, straightening up.

Simon huffed indignantly. “There is plenty of cinematic merit when it comes to B-grade science fiction movies.”

“Sure, but that one wasn’t B-grade. I’m pretty sure it was the stoner drop-out of the movie class,” Jace grunted.

“Whatever.” Simon crossed his arms and slumped, pouting.

“Well, biscuits, I’d say it’s been fun, but I’d be lying. That was a terrible movie. Isabelle, I expect a better pick next week.”

Isabelle grinned at Magnus, and Alec shuddered involuntarily. There were only two types of movies that Izzy liked – sappy, dramatic, romance movies that made him want to barf or violent, gory horror flicks that also made him want to barf.

“Now get out. I need a certain pretty-boy shadowhunter to help me forget the last hour of my life.”

The loft was empty, save Alec and Magnus, in less than thirty seconds.

**2.**

Alec flagged down the bartender and motioned for another beer. The foot he had resting on the rail under the bar bounced as he watched the curved staircase his boyfriend had disappeared up almost half an hour ago. The bartender returned with another bottle, Alec slid him a bill, and then dropped a dollar in the tip jar when the man returned with his change. He wrapped his slim fingers around the neck of the bottle, took a swallow, and then slipped back to where he’d previously been waiting in the shadows, halfway between the staircase and the door.

If Magnus didn’t come back down that staircase in the next fifteen minutes, Alec was going up after him, client meeting be damned. He shifted his bow and quiver, both glamoured to keep them from prying mundane eyes, and leaned back against the steel column that stretched clear into the rafters of the warehouse.

Music blasted from the speakers suspended from the ceiling, multicolored lights flashed in sporadic patterns, while strobe lights kept beat to the music. Slick, sweaty bodies littered the dance floor, swaying and writhing, men and women, the lights reflecting off the sheen of perspiration on their skin. This wasn’t his kind of place. In fact, if he were honest, he could see himself as more of country dance-hall person. Not the honky-tonk, backwoods, kind – but the kind that were in the big cities, where you didn’t necessarily have to be a cowboy to go and have a good time, where you could go and dance and then grab a beer and sit down to have a conversation, where the lights didn’t flash, the bass didn’t pulse...

“Wanna dance?”

A girl, probably barely legal, with dark hair and light eyes smiled at him. As she put her hand on his arm and leaned in, he could see that her pupils were dilated and her gaze unfocused.

“No.”

“Are you sure?” she said, dragging out the vowel in ‘sure’.

“Yes.” He wrapped two fingers on his free hand around her skinny wrist and removed her hand from his arm. “I’m gay.” His eyes hadn’t moved from the stairs.

The girl gave a resigned sigh and then tottered off, wobbling slightly on her stilettoes, and tugging at her dress to keep it from exposing anything which might have gotten her arrested. 

“So, gay, huh?”

The male voice came from the opposite side from which the girl had approached. Alec checked his watch. Two minutes and he was putting an end to the meeting, business conducted or not.

“Nope. Just a lie to deter jailbait.” His voice was flat, distracted. 

“Really? Because I think I’ve seen you in here before.” 

“I don’t think you have.” Alec’s chest was tingling under the rune pendant he wore.

The man leaned his shoulder against the pillar Alec was leaning on, pushing himself unwelcomely into the shadowhunter’s personal space. If Alec hadn’t been so focused on watching for Magnus, he wouldn’t hesitate to tell the guy to go to hell.

“Yeah, yeah…that’s right. You’re what’s-his-name’s arm candy… the flamer with the hair and the makeup and the – “

Alec’s annoyance surged and he snapped his head around to look at the man. A half second later, the tingling on his chest was gone and the man’s drink was no longer in his glass, instead, it was decorating the front of his shirt.

“Hello, darling.”

Magnus’s slipped under Alec’s arm and draped a his own around Alec’s waist.

“Ready?”

“More than,” Alec growled, tossing his empty bottle in a nearby trashcan.

Magnus’s attention flitted to the guy who was previously hitting on Alec.

“You really should get that cleaned up. Nobody likes a sloppy drunk.”

Alec shot the guy a final glare before allowing Magnus to lead him to the door and out into the brisk winter air. Neither spoke as they started the walk back to the loft. Alec could tell from the lightness in the warlock’s step that his meeting had gone well, so he didn’t bother asking about it.

It wasn’t until they were getting into bed that Magnus broke the silence.

“If you leave your necklace with me tomorrow, I’ll refill it for you.”

Alec reached across the bed and pulled Magnus back against his chest.

“I’d like that. Thank you.”

“Not a problem, Alexander. I’ll refill it every day for the rest of time if you keep using it to fend off amorous advances from potential suitors.”

The comment was playful, but the vulnerability in the tone surprised Alec.

“I don’t have any potential suitors,” Alec murmured against his hair, “because I’m keeping you for the rest of my life.”

“Alexander…” Magnus’s voice cracked.

“Love you, Mags.”

He was out before Magnus could answer with a whispered ‘love you too’.

**1.**

Alec swore under his breath, scraping the pen back and forth across the top of his paper. He was right in the middle of a report when it had run out of ink.

“Everything alright in here?”

Magnus poked his head into Alec’s office.

“It’s fine,” Alec said, pulling his desk drawer open and rummaging for another pen. “My favorite pen ran out of ink.”

His boyfriend slipped into the office, shutting the door softly behind him, while Alec continued to dig.

“I thought I had another one in here somewhere…but all I have are these cheap ones that leak everywhere.”

Magnus smiled, knowing that Alec wasn’t too particular about most things, but on the things he did care about, he was inflexible.

“I’ve got an idea,” Magnus said suddenly, approaching where Alec sat.

“You’re not going to steal me a new pen, are you? Because I know there’s another box in the supply room.”

“Of course not. I thought this would be a good lesson for learning some basic magic.”

Alec frowned. “I’m not stealing a pen either.”

“Why must you always assume the worst of me, darling?”

There was no venom in his voice, just fondness and a hint of drama. Magnus pulled one of the leaky pens from Alec’s desk drawer and set it down next to his empty pen, then placed his hand on Alec’s shoulder. The shadowhunter found himself leaning into the touch as a faint tinging, slightly ticklish sensation began where his boyfriend’s hand rested.

“How about, instead of stealing a pen, we just steal the pen’s ink?”

“So move the ink from the crappy pen into the better one?”

“Does that fall on the acceptable side of your adorable moral compass?”

Alec sighed. “I suppose it will do.”

Magnus laughed, making Alec’s stomach flutter.

“You’ve been spending too much time with me, darling. Your sass level has risen significantly.”

Alec just shook his head, smiling.

“Okay,” Magnus said, perching himself on the edge of Alec’s desk. “All it takes is focus. Just focus on emptying one pen and refilling the other.”

The tingling grew stronger and began to trail down into Alec’s arm and hand. He shivered a little, but kept his eyes on the pens in front of him. He tried to think about the ink leaving the first pen and entering the second pen, but he couldn’t quite see it happening, and the logistics involved in doing something like that were surprisingly complex. His lips tipped into a frown and he found his hands curling into fists.

“Relax, Alexander.” 

He hadn’t noticed the warlock getting up and moving behind him, so that he could bend over and murmur in Alec’s ear. But now he felt Magnus’s breath whisper across his skin, over and around the curves of his ear.

“You’re overthinking it. Simpler is always better when it comes to magic. Close your eyes.”

Alec did as he was told.

“Now stop thinking about the how and focus on the what. The magic will take care of the how.”

The shadowhunter took a deep breath, trying to slow his heart rate since it had ratcheted up at Magnus’s proximity. When he felt a little more in control, he turned his thoughts to the pens.

Fill my pen…Fill my pen…

The tingling grew in his fingertips, and he found himself making a short, sweeping gesture with his hand, as if shooing away a fly.

“Nicely done, Alexander.”

Alec opened his eyes to find that the leaky pen was now empty, and his favorite pen had a full barrel of ink again.

“I did that?” he asked, astounded.

“Of course.”

He picked up the writing implement and scribbled in the corner of his report. After a couple of back and forth motions, the ink began to flow.

“That’s awesome!”

Alec stood up and spun around, catching Magnus up in a hug. His boyfriend returned the embrace and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips.

“I’m glad you think so.”

“You don’t think it’s awesome?”

“Most people wouldn’t be impressed by such a basic task or be satisfied with so little magic. After all, you’re only able to skim the surface of my magic, it’s not like you’ll be able to summon a Greater Demon.”

“Well damn,” Alec said. “There go my Saturday plans.”

Magnus laughed, bold and bright.

“That still doesn’t answer my question, though.”

The warlock’s smile widened as he gazed at the shadowhunter.

“I think it’s damn awesome.”

**+1.**

“It was a stupid party anyway,” Alec mumbled against Magnus’s lips before pressing in for another kiss.

“Totally…lame,” Magnus agreed between pants.

They were in the hallway just outside Magnus’s loft, but neither seemed to notice or care. The warlock’s hands were in his hair, their bodies pressed together, while they kissed with the desperation of the dying. Alec grabbed at the back of his boyfriend’s shirt, un-tucking it from his pants, and rucking it up enough to get his hands under so he could press them against the soft skin underneath. At the contact, Magnus’s grip in his hair tightened, and he gasped into Alec’s mouth.

It had been a week. A full week without seeing his boyfriend, without touching his boyfriend, without hearing his boyfriend’s voice…only exchanging a few texts back and forth when they got the chance. Between Magnus’s demanding, but well-paying, client in London and Alec’s duties at the Institute, they hadn’t been able to cross paths in seven whole days. Not until the party for Luke’s birthday. They had hung around for half an hour, wished the alpha well, and then slipped out before Izzy or Clary caught them and guilt tripped them into staying longer.

“Let’s get – “ Alec pressed another kiss to Magnus’s lips, “inside.”

Magnus found the handle of the door behind him and pushed it down, allowing them both to stumble inside. As soon as they were past the threshold, Alec was backing Magnus against the door, his fingers fumbling with the buttons on the warlock’s shirt while said warlock pressed hot, open-mouthed kisses down his jaw and traced the rune on his neck with his tongue. He shivered as teeth nipped a particularly sensitive spot.

Magnus’s shirt finally fluttered open and Alec couldn’t stop his hands from running up the warlock’s chest, and then over his shoulders, pushing the fabric off. While his boyfriend finished jerking the sleeves off his wrists, Alec swept off his own shirt, tossing it aside without a backward glance.

“Come on,” Magnus said with a wink, grabbing his hand and towing Alec to the bedroom.

“I was planning on it,” Alec answered, voice thick.

The dirty insinuation made Magnus let out a sound between a choke and a laugh as he pushed Alec back towards the bed. His knees hit the edge and Alec flopped back, landing in the middle of the unmade bed. Magnus crawled up his body, dropping kisses from his navel, up the middle of his chest, until he reached Alec’s mouth, where he placed a searing kiss as he stretched out on top of the shadowhunter.

Alec returned the kiss with just as much enthusiasm, parting his lips to allow Magnus’s tongue to sweep into his mouth, deepening the kiss. His hands were everywhere on the warlock’s body, gliding over his smooth skin, following the dips and ridges of his abs and his chest, his fingers settling into the spaces between his ribs, fingertips digging in to pull Magnus closer, because they just weren’t close enough. He cupped Magnus’s face, sliding his hands back until his long fingers were tangled in the warlock’s hair, and he could adjust the angle of their kissing to bring him closer, deeper.

He felt Magnus’s hands on his back, fingers digging into his shoulder blades, muscles in his arms flexing as he clutched at Alec just as tightly as Alec clung to him. They reluctantly broke apart to suck in a couple lungfuls of oxygen before diving back together, just as needy and un-sated as when they had started.

When they separated again, Alec took the opportunity to roll them over so that he was on top, his hands on either side of Magnus’s head to support the weight of his upper body. Alec shifted just a bit, and they both groaned as their hips aligned _just right_.

“Do that again,” Magnus gasped, grabbing at Alec’s wrists, and making the skin tingle.

Alec’s head drooped, like his neck could no longer support the weight, but he obeyed, rolling his hips and providing both of them with a delicious combination of pressure and friction. He gazed down at the warlock, noting that the glamour disguising his eyes was gone, but the pupils of his cat eyes were blown wide. It wasn’t surprising, since Alec was certain that his pupils were just as large.

Alec was also hard, damn near painfully so, his erection straining at the zipper on his jeans, and making his pants increasingly uncomfortable. He could feel that Magnus had the same situation, and Alec briefly wondered how the warlock could possibly deal with being so hard in such tight pants. Instead of asking, he rolled his hips again, and this time Magnus matched the movement, his own hips rising to meet Alec’s and adding a brand new dimension to their rutting that had Alec’s heart stuttering and turned his breathing into ragged gasping.

“Pants,” Alec growled, “off. Now.”

“You sure darling?” Magnus teased, planting his feet on the bed for leverage and then thrusting up.

Alec whined, a shamelessly needy sound that elicited a corresponding groan from his partner, and met him for a kiss that was more teeth and tongue than lips. His body felt like it was burning from the inside out: his skin blazing, liquid fire racing through his veins, every nerve ending lit. The tingling around where Magnus’s hands gripped his wrists, fingernails pinching the skin, was traveling up his arms, into his chest, and dipping down into his belly. His insides were humming, buzzing, and he felt almost like he was going to vibrate right out of his own skin.

“Pants – “ Alec started.

He didn’t get to finish before both his and Magnus’s pants were gone, leaving them both in their boxers.

“God that’s handy,” Alec mumbled against Magnus’s lips.

The warlock didn’t answer. In fact, he’d gone eerily still. The shadowhunter’s heart clenched painfully as a wave of anxiety washed over him and he pulled back to look at Magnus.

The warlock was staring at Alec with an expression that he couldn’t even begin to decipher.

“What’s wrong?”

“I –“ he broke off and fell silent.

“Mags?” 

“That wasn’t me.”

The answer was so soft Alec almost missed it. His stomach twisted.

“What wasn’t you?”

When he didn’t respond, Alec rolled off of him and sat up. 

“You’re scaring me, Mags.”

The admission seemed bring the warlock back around and he sat up, eyes distant.

“The pants,” he said finally. “That wasn’t me.”

Alec gave him a wary grin. “Well, it definitely wasn’t me.”

Very slowly, Magnus turned his head to look at him. “I think it was.”

It took a second for the statement to process, but when it did, Alec huffed a laugh. “No way. Maybe you just lost control – “

“I’m over eight-hundred years old, Alexander. I haven’t lost control over my magic since Columbus discovered the New World.”

The shadowhunter thought about making a remark about how maybe Alec was just that good, but the way Magnus was staring at him, and the solemnity of his tone made the comment die before it reached his lips. 

“I need to look at something.”

Magnus slid off the bed and left the room, and Alec followed him down the hall to his library. He watched the warlock as he scoured the shelves, brushing dust off spines to read titles, occasionally pulling one out and flipping through it before tossing it aside. He climbed a spiral staircase in the back to get to the loft and continued to scan the shelves. 

If he hadn’t been so confused and slightly worried, Alec might have found the sight of Magnus in his boxers, hair sticking up, makeup smeared, digging through dusty tomes funny. As it was, he currently found it a bit distressing. 

Magnus finally seemed to find what he was looking for. He pulled a large, leather-bound book off the shelf, brushed a thick layer of dust away, and then padded back down the staircase and over to the fireplace in the center of the room. He waved a hand at it and the logs ignited.

“Come here, Alexander. I want to show you something.”

Magnus seated himself on the rug and Alec sat down next to him, grateful for the warmth coming off the fire. In the middle of winter, the loft tended to be chilly.

“Remember what I told you when you asked about my hands sparking while I slept?”

Alec nodded.

“There’s another part to it that I didn’t tell you. Not because it’s a secret, or anything like that, simply because it’s been unverified for longer than I’ve been alive. Most – possibly all – living warlocks dismiss the second part because for as long as our collective history goes back, there’s been only one recorded incident, and it was so long ago that there’s no way to verify its authenticity. For millennia, we’ve all assumed it was a fanciful bit of fiction that got tied into the historical records, whether by accident or design, no one knows. Not that it matters.”

Magnus took a breath and Alec resisted the urge to speak or ask a question.

“I know I’m not making a lot of sense, but look.”

Magnus laid the large volume on the rug in front of them and flipped it open. It was written in a language that Alec couldn’t read, but there were illustrations on most of the pages. The warlock flipped through several chapters until he reached what he was looking for.

“This tells the story of warlock who fell in love with a mortal. And much like what happened to you, the mortal woke up to find that the warlock’s hands were sparking with magic while he slept and when she asked him about it, he told her what I told you. It means they’re– once again, for lack of a better term – soul mates. But the story doesn’t stop there.”

Magnus turned a page.

“It turns out that the mortal, despite having no magical ability before, can ‘harness’ a little bit of the warlock’s magic and use it for small tasks. It’s never explained why, or how, it only states that it can happen.” Magnus flips the book closed, running a finger reverently over the title embossed on the front. “Every story in this book is true. Not every story applies to every warlock, but every other story in this volume, in this collection of volumes, has historical data and anecdotal evidence to support it. All except the second part of this particular story.”

Suddenly, Alec understood why Magnus was so unnerved.

“And that’s what you think just happened in the bedroom?”

Magnus nodded slowly. “I know it wasn’t me. For me to use my magic, I have to be focused on a particular task, and while I definitely wanted your pants off, it wasn’t in the forefront of my mind.”

“But it was my primary focus.” 

“Yes.”

“I don’t know, Mags. It seems a little far-fetched. I mean, why me? Why now? Isn’t it more probable that your control slipped, just a little, for just a moment – “

“It tingles. The magic tingles, just under your skin, usually buzzing around the hands, but probably for you, it starts wherever we’re touching skin-to-skin. Your wrists, I imagine. Then it would travel up your arms, into your shoulders and chest and down into your lower extremities. It might make you feel like you swallowed a hive of angry bumblebees. But once you used it, once you released the magic, the feeling would disappear.”

“How…”

“Because that’s what it feels like for me. And if you’re tapping into my magic, I would imagine the sensations would be similar.”

Alec nodded and they sat watching the flames in the fireplace dance, lost in their own whirlwind of thoughts.

“I’m sorry,” Magnus said finally.

“For what?”

“For dropping this on you. If it’s too much, or too soon, or you need some time – “

Alec leaned over and cut him off with a soft kiss. “For being so old, and supposedly wise, you’re awfully thick sometimes. I love you, Magnus Bane. I’m not going anywhere.” Alec kissed him again and then flashed a cheeky grin. “Plus, I can hijack your magic and I’m going down in warlock history. That’s probably the most badass thing that could ever happen. I’m _so_ going to rub it in Jace’s face when I see him again.”

Magnus laughed as Alec stood up and held his hand out.

“So now that we’re not wearing pants, who cares how they were removed, can we get back to more immediate and less historical issues?”

Magnus took his hand and allowed Alec to help him up.

“What did you have in mind?” he wondered, wrapping his arms around Alec’s waist.

“Let’s go see if we can repeat the experiment, only this time, I think I’ll focus on our more _intimate_ apparel.”

“I am all about the scientific method,” Magnus purred.

“Then we’ve got work to do.” 

They both laughed as they scurried back to the bedroom.

**Author's Note:**

> Quick notes on pieces:
> 
> #5 - Just in case anyone's wondering, there was no mis-type when I mention the language of the book. It's Aramaic, not Arabic. Aramaic is an ancient language, spoken in the time of Christ.
> 
> #3 - I apologize to fans of Sharknado. I've never actually seen the movie. Also, for those who don't watch 'Supernatural', "long pig" is a kind of slang for human flesh.


End file.
